The Notebook
by LiveHappy247
Summary: This is a Delena story based on "The Notebook." If you haven't seen "The Notebook," it is about a man who tells the story of his wife's life back to her b/c she has dementia. (in this case, Elena doesn't remember for supernatural reasons that are unknown) I don't own The Notebook, The Vampire Diaries, or any of the characters. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**I have been requested by October Baby to do a Delena story based off of The Notebook. I can tell that I am going to have a lot of fun writing this story, so I hope you all have as much fun reading it. I do not own The Notebook or The Vampire Diaries, nor do I own the characters. **

Damon's POV

Elena sat in my room at the boarding house, except she doesn't know it's the boarding house. A matter of fact, she doesn't remember much of anything, or at least she can't really piece it all together. It had been 60 years since the cure for vampirism was destroyed and just a couple months ago that she fell into a state of oblivion. Bonnie has been relentless at searching for the reason for the demise of Elena's memory, but she has come up with nothing.

I stand in the doorway to my room where Elena sits in a chair in front of the window. I bring a hot cup of her favorite herbal tea. She takes it gratefully, taking a long sip.

"Thank you, Mr. Salvatore" she says in a voice too unfamiliar.

"You're welcome and please, call me Damon," I ask her more for my sake than hers. I pull up a chair next to hers and stare out at the trees where her gaze is affixed.

"I wanted to thank you again for letting me stay here. I hope that I am not too much of an inconvenience," Elena says. It makes my heart nearly shatter because she doesn't even realize that this is her house too, ever since 2014. She wears a pair of dark skinny jeans and a sweater jacket that ties in the front. I gaze back out the window before Bonnie comes in and knocks on the door.

"Damon?" Bonnie says quietly, "could I see you for a second."

"Let me know if you need anything," I say Elena, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. I walk across the room to where Bonnie stands in the doorway. Bonnie was technically 78 in human years, but since she had become so powerful, she extended her life greatly, so she looked no older than 30.

"What's up?" I ask her as I close the door behind me.

"I have an idea," Bonnie says as she pulls several of Elena's diaries out of her purse, "now; granted, not every part of her life is in these, but that's where you come in. Just tell her the story as if it were just another novel. Maybe she'll put two and two together that it's about her."

"Don't you think that she will know when I start using her name though as the girl in the story?" I ask, pondering how this is ever going to work.

"I don't think she will pay attention, just tell her at the beginning that the main character just so happens to have the same name as her. She is so out of it that I doubt she will even notice."

I nod my head, praying that this will work. I am so appreciative of Bonnie for working so hard to bring Elena back to me and to her own life. She gives me a quick hug before placing the journals into my hands.

"It will be ok, Damon. We will figure this out," Bonnie says reassuringly.

I just nod, wanting so badly to believe her, but the last couple months have dwindled my hopes that Elena will snap out of it and come back to me. How desperately I miss her.

I re-enter my room and find Elena right where I left her. I sit in the chair next to hers and sit silently for a moment. I take a deep breath, smelling the familiar scent of her shampoo, mixed with a few of her favorite candles burning around the room.

"Is it alright if I tell you a story?" I ask her, just to make sure she is ok with it.

"Absolutely. I would like that a lot," she flashed me a small smile before wrapping her blanket around her even more tightly to settle in and listen. I smile at her ready to give this a try before recollecting what happened so long ago.

"And so the story begins with a girl named Elena…"

**I plan on making future chapters way longer than this one, but I felt it important to end this chapter before we got into the flashbacks. **

**Also, I plan on using some of the most important scenes from TVD, but I will create some similar to The Notebook as well. If you would like me to continue, please review. I never can tell which of my story ideas are good until I get feedback. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to those who reviewed & added this story to your favorites or alert list. **

**By the way, this chapter starts immediately into the flashback. I have decided to write it from Damon's POV. He is telling his story to Elena, except that she doesn't know that she is a part of it. **

I sat leaning up against a tree with a blood bag in one hand and my occasional screwdriver in the other although it had too little of Vodka. I opened my flask and emptied the contents into the cup. I leaned my head back against the trunk and stared up at the stars. I tried to make them materialize into a constellation, but all I seemed to find was a bunch of random-ass stars. As I lifted my cup to my lips to finish off the rest of my drink, a blood curdling shriek stopped me. I was on my feet and running before my drink even hit the ground. Elena hollered again when I landed outside of her flipped car.

"How are you doing in there?" I asked calmly.

"Damon?" she cried in a panicked voice.

"You look stuck." I stated the obvious in hopes of helping to calm her down. She would be ok, I was sure of it. I pulled the door open as she continued to panic.

"It's my seatbelt, I," she cried.

"Shhh, shhh, sh," I soothed. It broke my heart to see her in pain. "Let me get you out of here. I want you to put your hands on the roof," I instructed as she obeyed, "just like that. You ready?" I acted calm, although I hadn't a clue who the vampire who caused this was or what he wanted?

"One, two, three," and with my supernatural strength I was able to break the seatbelt and pull her out, unscratched.

"Gotcha," I reassured her as she was safely in my arms. "You okay? Can you stand? Is anything broken?" She grumbled in response as I set her to the ground, keeping my arms near in case she collapsed. Her legs gave fast underneath her just before I caught her from hitting the ground.

"You are fading fast, Elena," I said, trying to reach her before she was out for the night. I placed my hand underneath her chin and a thumb on her lower lip trying to get her to look at me. If I could just get her to meet my gaze, I might be able to reach her before she passed out, which by the state she was in, was going to happen anyways.

"Elena, look at me. Focus." She eventually affixed her eyes on mine. "Ok." I had success in getting her somewhat aware of what was happening.

"I look like her," she croaked.

"What?" I didn't understand until she finally gave in, going unconscious in my arms. Somehow, she found out about Katherine and that was why she was here in the middle of the night.

"Upsy-daisy," I murmured as I picked her up and headed down the road to where I had been parked. I placed her into the passenger seat of my car and drove back to the scene of the wreck. Locking her in the car, I dragged her car off into the woods.

I thought back to her words,_ I look like her_. Stefan must have kept Katherine a secret. He was a good man who loved her more than anything in the whole world. He wanted to make her happy and protect her from any harm, even from me, but unfortunately keeping Katherine a secret was hurting her. Katherine was his past love who was identical to Elena, so I assumed she found a picture or something, which caused her to run. She drove away, leaving him to find that his own actions were the reason for her pain.

I couldn't even imagine how disgruntled Stefan must be and I was going to enjoy this opportunity to piss my brother off even more. Elena and I were going to Georgia and not just for my sake, but she needed a time out anyways. She needed a minute to push all of that drama aside, get a little drunk, shoot some pool, and get away from her controlling-ass boyfriend. Mind you, that Stefan was a good guy, but he was almost too good, too protective and overbearing. Hell, he was practically smothering her, which was why I was going to give her what she needed.

I got back into the car and started to drive. Every once in a while I glanced over and saw her peacefully sleeping. I almost wished that my brother and I hadn't found her so vampires would have remained a myth, but here she was riding shotgun in the car of one.

After she awoke, she forced me to stop the car, complaining that this was an act of kidnapping, but after a little smooth talking, she gave in and agreed to simply enjoy the ride.

When we arrived at the bar, I introduced her to Bree, an old witch friend from way back when.

"So, Damon? What's her story?" Bree asked once Elena went to the bathroom.

"She is Stefan's girl who looks exactly like Katherine and…she found out. She needed a break from all the drama, so here we are."

"Why are you the one to give her this supposed time out?"

"Because I happened to be in the right place at the right time," I answer in a smart-ass tone.

Bree was about to give me shit, but Elena walked back into the room.

"I'm back," she sung in her adorable drunk voice, "did you miss me?"

"Absolutely," I said, taking another shot.

"I want one of those," Elena asked.

"You know, I could get into some serious trouble if the cops found out I was serving minors," Bree teased, pouring us all a round of shots anyways.

Elena threw hers back faster than all of us and had a bigger ego about it than anybody I had ever known.

Soon enough, half of the bar was doing shots together, but Elena kicked some serious ass. When she downed her 3rd shot with at least 4 beers finished, she danced and cheered, a happy drunk she was.

"Do you need a bib?" she gave me the pouty face as I playfully rolled my eyes at her.

"Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol."

"Hmmm, whatever. Alright, who's next? Another round, Bree" she slurred.

"Honey, you should be on the floor," an older drunk woman told Elena, who was bee-bopping around like she wasn't intoxicated in the slightest.

"I am not even drunk. My tolerance is like way up here," Elena responded, jumping to show how high her tolerance really was. She slammed back another shot, making it number four. She was for sure going to have a nasty hangover, but I was sure Stefan would be the first to feed her some of his blood to cure it.

Elena's phone rang as she was spinning and cheering while playing pool, so she exited to go take the phone call, while I socialized a little longer, but I started to panic when she doesn't return. I end up finding her phone outside on the ground, very aware that something bad was about to happen. I walked around the bar to a dimly lit parking lot, where I find Elena with a panicked look on her face.

"Damon, no!" Elena hollered right before a vampire came out and took a bat to my legs, forcing me to the ground. After he is done beating the shit out of me, he drenched me in gasoline.

"No!" Elena ran up behind the vampire, but stopped when he bared his fangs.

After a couple seconds of 'who are you?' and 'why are you doing this?' type questions, he stated the answer to it all.

"He killed my girlfriend."

And now I understand. This was Lexi's boyfriend. Lexi went to see Stefan and I killed her for what reason besides to be a monumental dick to my brother. I guess one could argue that it was so the town council wouldn't suspect Stefan and I to be vampires, but the root of it was because of my anger for Stefan. I still hadn't gotten over the fact that Katherine loved him and that he made me turn into a vampire.

"She loved you!" Elena blurted out, trying to stall the man from sending me up in flames, "She said that when it's real, you can't walk away."

"Well that's a choice you're not going to have to make." The vampire spit the words as if they were sour on his tongue.

"Don't. Don't. Please don't hurt him."

"I'm doing you a favor," he says, holding the lit match over Damon's vulnerable form.

"Lexi loved you and she was good and that means you're good too," Elena pleads not ready to give up yet, "be better than him. Don't do this, I'm begging you. Please."

His better nature gets the better of him as he threw me against the wall, but decided not to set me aflame.

"Thank you," Elena sighed.

"It wasn't for you," the man bit before speeding away.

We are on our way, heading back to Mystic Falls by the next sunrise.

"So, why did you bring me with you?" she prodded.

"Well, you're not the worst company in the world, Elena. You should give yourself more credit," I answered, realizing that there wasn't anybody that I'd rather be with at that given point in time.

"Seriously?"

"I don't know, you were there in the road all damsel in distress-like and I knew it would piss off Stefan and you're not the worst company in the world, Elena."

She smirked in triumph before she felt the need to explain herself. "I used to be more fun."

"You did ok."

"I saved your life," she smirked proudly.

"I know."

"And don't you forget it."

How could I forget it? Every word she said and every plea she made to the vampire who had held my life in his hands, almost convinced me that she actually cared about me, but I knew better than that. No matter how much fun we had together, I always somehow ended up being deserted, but I was going to take this road trip as one of the good memories…although I knew all too well that good things must always come to an end.

XXXXXXXXXXXX (The XXX's mean that the story is switching in or out of the flashback, in this case…we are switching out.)

"That makes me sad," Elena murmurs, "I feel bad for you."

"Everything turned out ok, it was just a little rough in the beginning," I respond.

She doesn't answer, obviously unaware of how it turned out ok.

"Is it ok if we continue the story a little later? I'm rather tired," she yawns.

"Of course," I answer, rising to my feet. I am about to head out through the door, but Elena stops me.

"Thank you for this. I really enjoyed this."

"So did I," I respond not just to the time we spent together today, but for the last 60 years.

**Please just take a few seconds to let me know what you think. Are you satisfied with how this is progressing? Is there a memory that you want me to include? Any thought you might be having, please feel free to comment and let me know! Stay Awesome and Merry Christmas!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everybody who reviewed! Your input means everything to me. Due to how complex the storyline of TVD is, I will have to change or simplify things in order to make them work for this story, but the overall story should stay true to the show.**

**To answer edadaldal's question, Damon and Elena are both vampires in this story.**

**Also, I may add or take out dialogue.**

"Hey, did you sleep well?" I ask as Elena comes downstairs. She takes a seat at a barstool as I serve her up some pancakes and coffee. I made her 5 pancakes with blueberries and a splash of vanilla with her syrup heated up in the microwave, just the way she likes them. Even if she doesn't t know herself very well, I do and I am never going to forget even the most trivial details.

"Thanks," she takes a big gulp of coffee, "Umm, Damon?"

"Yes?"

"Could you maybe continue that story?" Her voice is timid and shy.

"Of course," I say taking the barstool next to hers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After Elena and Stefan made up and started to fall deeper in love, I was only minutes away from getting Katherine, the woman I had loved for 145 years. As cold and stern I made myself out to be, the heart of all my intentions were for love. I was so close to opening the tomb that Katherine had been locked into so long ago by the vampire hunters and witches of Mystic Falls who believed that vampires were undoubtedly evil.

I stood and watched with intensity as two Bennett witches spoke a foreign tongue to perform the spell that would bring my beloved back to me.

"You ready?" I asked Elena.

"What?"

"I'm not going in there by myself. They'll bring down the walls on me the second I take a step inside," I said, gesturing to Bonnie and her grandmother.

"Don't you dare take her with you," grandma witch said.

"He needs leverage. He needs to know that you're not going to shut the door when he gets inside." Elena said, taking a deep breath and following me into the tomb.

The tomb smells of musk and dirt. We headed deeper inside searching every crack and crevice, but in my quest to find her, Elena got separated from me. I could hear her calling my name, but I had to find Katherine. I searched the back room feverously, but my dreams of happiness in my future dwindled when she wasn't there. Stefan showed up right when all hope had been lost.

"She's not here," I repeat to myself barely able to contain my frustration. I had worked towards this day for over a hundred years and this moment just proved that it was all for nothing.

"She's not here," I yelled throwing the blood bag I had for Katherine against the wall. Having nothing left to live for I stood trying to make sense of why she wasn't there. Stefan pleaded at me to escape, but I wasn't sure I really wanted out. If the one thing that had kept me going all these years didn't even exist, what was the point?

"Damon?" Elena calls out from the entryway to the room, "please?" And for one instant I felt inclined to live and in that instant I chose to. After we exited the tomb and the door had been sealed shut, I sped off, not wanting to spend another moment with the people who would pity me. Once I was deeper into the woods, I sunk to my knees and cried for the first time since Lexi told me not to enlist for WWII with my brother. After a few minutes, I heard the footsteps of Stefan and Elena. After I took a quick swig of whiskey from a flask in my jacket, they both spotted me. I felt their sympathy through the air between us, which made me feel even worse. It made me feel weak, but when Elena came over and embraced me I hadn't ever felt so vulnerable in my life.

If everything I did was for love, than what would be my motivation now?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wait! Is that a rhetorical question?" Elena blurts out, "Because I'm sensing a rhetorical question."

I laugh at how she somehow seemed to remember a term from high school English.

"I suppose so."

"The answer is Elena. Elena is going to be his or your motivation, right?"

I just smile back at her and continue with the story.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As a little time passed, Stefan lost control and started to spiral back into his days of uncontrollable thirst for human blood. As much as he loved Elena, when he was under the influence of human blood, he was a slave to it. On the day of the town pageant in which several teenagers, including Elena, all competed to be crowned Miss Mystic Falls, Stefan derailed.

Elena stood at the top of the steps as her name was called for the pageant dance, her escort was still missing. She was graceful and absolutely stunning in her silky blue gown. Each step eluded beauty and elegance, but her eyes spoke of concern for Stefan, for he was nowhere to be found.

I took the place of Stefan as her escort and although her eyes gave off a hint of relief.

"Where's Stefan?"

"I don't know," I whispered back as I took her hand and escorted her outside.

We bowed and begun the dance that I somehow knew. We moved too perfectly in such unison. I knew I was an awesome dancer, but something about dancing with her made it ten times as enjoyable. My heart sank when the song ended and I was forced to let go of her.

Stefan was found feeding his blood lust with a young and innocent woman. Not that I could be anyone to judge, due to my own record, but I also saw Elena as a young innocent woman and the blonde he was feeding off of could have easily been a certain brunette.

Once she was safely into the authorities, injured because of an "animal attack" as I compelled her to remember it as, we went back to the boarding house. Elena went to Stefan despite his condition.

"You shouldn't be here," Stefan growled as Elena entered his room.

"I know, but that wasn't you."

"That was absolutely me. I'm a monster, a predator."

"That's what the blood makes you."

"The blood brings out what's inside me. If you think any different than you're an idiot."

"I know this isn't you, Stefan."

"I wanted to drain every ounce of blood from that girl's body. It's who I am, Elena."

"You can't scare me off." She believed in him and that is part of what made their relationship so strong. "This isn't you," she tried to convince him.

"Stop saying that," he yelled, knowing the evil that festered inside.

"I believe in you," she continued.

"Stop!" He yelled, pinning her against the wall with violent frustration, but he still didn't scare her off.

"I'm so sorry," Stefan said, allowing the good part of him to resurface.

"It's ok," she responded giving him a hug before plunging a vervain syringe deep into his back. As he sunk to the ground, I entered, despising the pain on her face.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.

"I'm sure," she responded before I slung his body over my shoulder and carried him down to the basement.

"There is no guarantee this is going to work," I said not wanting to give her false hope.

"It has to."

I started to walk away, but noticed that she wasn't following, "You coming?"

"I'm going to stay here." She slumped to the ground, taking a seat against the cold stone wall. I wasn't going to leave her alone, so her decision became mine as I slumped to the ground on the opposite wall.

**Did you like it? What did you think? Please let me know. Your reviews are what inspire me to write more! Stay Awesome everybody and until next update, goodbye! :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**You guys are so awesome and encouraging, so in return for your generosity is…ANOTHER CHAPTER! Yay! Enjoy everybody! **

**Also, I want you to know that once we get through the history, this story will follow a little more closely to the movie/book because I will be able to be more creative with it so…be patient my friends!**

"Hey, how is it going?" Bonnie asks the instant I answer my phone.

"She is enjoying it and she even has occasional commentary, but is clueless that it is even about her."

"It is still early, so keep it up."

"That was the plan," I sigh.

"Hey? Don't give up. She will come around, I can feel it."

"If only you had some witchy voodoo that could solve this problem instantaneously."

"I'm working on it, just be patient and hang in there."

"Kay, bye," I say, hanging up the phone.

I find Elena sitting in the foyer with a glass of whiskey in her hand. Over the years, she eventually became accustomed to it, but she really only drinks when in deep contemplation.

"Is he falling in love with her?" Elena asks with her back still to me.

"How about I continue and you can determine that for yourself?" I pour myself a glass of whiskey and take a seat next to her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elena was still leery about me because of my record, but when she learned about my history, she begun to understand why I was the way I was.

Stefan and I were both in love with Katherine, who ultimately manipulated both of us into thinking that she truly cared for us. While I fed from her willingly, she forced Stefan to drink from her so if the time came that we died, we would come back as vampires. What hurt the most was that it was supposed to be me and me alone, but she loved him.

When we both were in transition, Stefan fed and completed the transition, but I didn't want to because I didn't know that Katherine was still alive. The whole point of turning was so that we could be together forever and as far as I was concerned, my reason for existence had vanished. As for Stefan, he wanted me to turn, so in his need for a companion, he brought me a woman with an open flesh wound and I couldn't resist feeding on her.

As time continued to pass, I got to know Elena and she got to know me, but to her I was nothing more than a friend. I couldn't say the same for me about her.

I went to her house to offer Jeremy an out for his pain of losing Anna, his girlfriend. I wanted to do the right thing and offer him a chance to make him forget about her so he wouldn't have to grieve because I knew all too well what grieving felt like. I had suffered the pain of losing love several times over the decades. When he refused, I left and met Elena on the porch.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she walked up the steps.

"Failed in a feeble attempt at doing the right thing," I shot her a sad smile.

"Which was?"

"It's not important. Let me take this for you," I grab her things and set them on the bench.

"Thank you."

"You know, I came to this town wanting to destroy it. Tonight, I found myself wanting to protect it." I fidget with my ring realizing how she was the only one that could make me want to be good.

"How does that happen?" I asked her, but I was really asking myself, "I'm not a hero, Elena. I don't do good. It's just not in me."

"Maybe it is."

"No. No, it's reserved for my brother," I said wishing how I could tell her that _she _was also reserved for him, "and you and Bonnie, even though she has every reason to hate me, she still helped Stefan save me."

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

Because I'd spent my whole life being rejected and simply existing that the fact that anybody would even be interested in caring about me sounded illusory, but I didn't say that.

"Because she did it for you, which means somewhere along the way you decided I was worth saving." The thought that I was actually worth anything was incredible. I slowly stepped closer, closing the gap between us. "And I wanted to thank you for that."

"You're welcome," she shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

I leaned in and kissed her cheek as a sign of gratitude, but when she didn't flinch or pull away, I kissed her on the mouth out of passion because I was falling in love with her.

The door opened and Elena's aunt stood looking none too happy.

"Hi," Elena said, still in shock.

"It's late, you should probably come inside." Jenna sounded pissed, so Elena grabbed her stuff and left me there with that blissful moment as just a memory. That memory became fake because the very next day I found out that it was Katherine who kissed me back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elena gasps, briefly stopping the story.

"What?" I ask, nonchalantly.

I can see that she is fighting back tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, it's ok." I grab her hand and rub the back of it with my thumb. It makes me smile that even though she doesn't remember that she knows me or that I am telling our story, it is nice to know that she is feeling something. "It's ok."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The very next night I found myself back at the Gilbert house in Elena's room.

"Thanks for looking out for us, for me," Elena said when she found me sitting on her bed.

"That's me, trusty bodyguard. Calm in crisis," I slurred my words after having too much to drink.

"Have you been drinking?"

I showed just a pinch with my fingers, not wanting to admit how intoxicated I really was.

"And you're upset. That's not a good combination." I had learned that over the years, when I got screwed or hurt in any situation, I always came to the solution of alcohol, but the turnout was never pretty.

"No, I'm not upset," I lied, "upset is an emotion specific to those who care."

"Come on Damon, that's a lie. You care."

"You're surprised that I thought you'd kiss me back? You can't imagine that I'd believe you'd want to," I fired at her. To be honest, I wanted to corner her and make her feel as bad as I did because she was the one that brought me back to caring.

"Damon," she started, but I cut her off, not wanting to give her the chance to explain because I had her right where I wanted her.

"That what we'd been doing here means something? You're the liar, Elena. There is something going on between the two of us and you know it. And you're lying to me and you're lying to Stefan and most of all, you're lying to yourself. I can prove it." I leaned in and tried to kiss her, but she rejected because obviously what I felt, wasn't mutual.

"Damon! Don't. What's wrong with you?"

"Lie about this."

"Stop it. You're better than this, come on."

"That is where you are wrong."

"No. No. No. I care about you. Listen to me. I care about you, I do, but I love Stefan. It's always going to be Stefan," she pleaded and my heart broke once again. Too many times had the answer been Stefan and it broke my heart that he seemed to always get the happy ending.

Jeremy stepped into the doorway at the wrong time because like Elena said; upset and drinking was not a good combination.

"Elena, what's going on?"

"Nothing, Jeremy. It's nothing, just go back to bed."

"No. It's not ok, Elena. He wants to be a vampire," I said, feeling the rage boil up as I slammed him against the wall and started to choke him.

"No, Damon. Stop it!" Elena cried.

"You want to shut out the pain. It's the easiest thing in the world and the part of you that cares just goes away. All you have to do is flip the switch and snap." With one twist of my wrist, I snapped his neck and watched his lifeless body limp to the ground.

"Damon! Nooooo!" Elena dropped to the ground, but he was gone and I didn't know then that he was wearing his ring. I backed out of the room watching as Elena sobbed, but came to the realization that he had is ring and would come back to life in a little while thanks to magic, but the hurt on her face still almost matched how I felt. With those few minutes that I was there, we went from rejection to hate and to be honest, I didn't know which was worse. Maybe that was why I killed him; maybe I would have rather felt hate than rejection; maybe the only way I knew how to deal with pain was to inflict pain on others. Oh and how I was hurting because nothing is worse than loving somebody who is in love with somebody else. And I should know from experience once before.

**Thanks for reading! **


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter will continue to look into the past episodes, but trust me when I say we are getting close to the new, creative moments. Thanks for all your wonderful comments. **

**I am combining several scenes. For example, the scene where Damon apologizes to Elena for feeding her his blood is going to be an apology for him snapping Jeremy's neck instead. **

**Also, I am going to start being able to incorporate quotes/scenes from **_**The Notebook**_** into the story, so don't be alarmed if you notice something that you aren't familiar with.**

"Damon?" Elena asks when I come back up to my bedroom with a cup of coffee.

"Yes?"

"I want to thank you for this story because to be quite honest, it is the only thing that I have been able to keep straight and follow for what seems like forever," she pauses, wiping a tear from her eye, "I may not be able to understand my past, but I've enjoyed yours and in a way, it feels like I'm experiencing it too." She pauses again and blushes slightly, "or maybe I'm just naturally an overly emotional person."

I laugh and take a seat next to her to continue.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Despite the tension between me and Elena, I still loved her and she tolerated me, especially when Klaus came to town. Klaus was an original vampire who needed Petrova doppelganger blood to make hybrids. Elena being that doppelganger, Stefan and I did everything in our power to protect her. One night, when I was trying to do so, I got bit by a werewolf and werewolf bites are fatal to vampires.

Knowing that time was running out, I went to do the one thing that would bring me peace.

"What do you want?" Elena said when she saw me in the hallway of her house.

"I want to apologize," I pleaded.

"Damon…"

"Please, hurting your brother, I was wrong." It hurt me to know that I'd hurt her.

"Yes, you were."

"And I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I need it." I tried to hide the desperation in my voice.

"And I need some time, maybe a lot of time."

"Sure, of course. Take all the time you need," I responded, knowing that all I could afford her was one day because the clock was ticking.

I headed home and decided to end it early before the crazy kicked in. Taking the last swig of my glass of bourbon, I slipped off my daylight ring. The sun streamed through the windows and onto my body. It seared my skin and caused a brutal pain that dug deeper every second until my back hit the floor.

"Get off of me," I growled at my brother before he slammed me into the next wall.

"You're not doing this."

"Just did." I retorted and then he threw my ass into the cellar.

"You're not dying today." Stefan affirmed as he bolted the cellar shut. "I'm going to find a way out of this." I lied on my back and let my mind wander as Stefan left me alone.

It must have been hours before Sheriff Forbes and her crew came for me, but as I lied on the floor, face down, they opened the gate. The moment Sheriff Forbes stepped inside, I knocked her out cold and got out of there as fast as possible.

I wasn't sure where it was that I was going, except that I had to get out. In no time, I was in the town square where a showing of "Gone with the Wind" was playing. Then, I saw her, but I also saw Katherine. My memories were blurred with the present. I couldn't tell hallucination from truth or vice versa. I was losing control as I pinned Elena to a light post.

"I choose you, Katherine," I said into Elena's big brown eyes.

"Look at me, hey, it's Elena. It's Elena." But I don't hear her.

"I have to, if we are to be together forever." I sank my teeth into her flesh and drank while Elena protested quietly.

"Damon, stop. You're hurting me. You don't have to do this. Please stop. You're hurting me."

Her voice finally broke through to me and I pulled away, seeing the frightened look on Elena's face.

"Elena?" I said, sinking to the ground, appalled at what I had done.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's beautiful. It's a beautiful, yet heartbreaking story," Elena sighs, "I don't know why it makes me feel sad."

I just stare back into her beautiful eyes and wait for any other hint of remembrance.

"I think I've heard it before," she continues, but then stops and waits for me to continue.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Elena?" I whispered when we were in my bedroom. I lied on my bed like a sick animal while Elena stood over me like a guardian angel.

"It's ok, Damon. I'm right here."

"Elena, get out of here. I could hurt you."

"No, you won't. I'm here until the very end. I'm not leaving you."

"Get outta here," I tried to protest, but the pain took ahold and became just shy of bearable.

"Hey, it's ok. It's ok," she soothed.

"It's not ok. All those years I blamed Stefan. No one forced me to love her. It was my own choice. I made the wrong choice," I panted, "tell Stefan, I'm sorry. Ok?"

"I will."

"This is even more pitiful than I thought."

"There's still hope." Although we both were almost certain that it had been lost long ago.

"I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die."

"No," Elena protested, snuggling in closer, "you don't."

"I do, Elena, and it's ok." I flashed her a weak smile, to reassure her, but mostly myself. "Cause if I had chosen differently I wouldn't have met you. I'm so sorry. I've done so many things to hurt you."

"It's ok. I forgive you." In this moment, I felt a wall come down between us. In that moment, we had been closer than we'd ever been and I was just going to go off and die without seeing what came next.

"I know you love Stefan and it'll always be Stefan, but I love you. You should know that."

I could hear the sniffling as she lied her head on my chest and clung to me like I clung to my life in that moment.

"I do."

"You should have met me in 1864, you would've liked me."

"I like you now, just the way you are." Those words gave me the satisfaction that I was good enough. For years I'd been looking for acceptance in a century of rejection and she just gave it to me. I could feel my life slipping from me with every passing second, but when her lips pressed to mine, I felt the energy just light up my entire body, but then it was gone.

"Thank you," I murmured with just enough strength.

"You're welcome."

In just a beat later, Katherine came waltzing in with the cure, the blood of Klaus. Unfortunately, this cure comes at a cost; Stefan. Stefan gave his servitude to Klaus to save me and I would be forever in debt to him because even when I fell in love with his girl, he still loved his brother.

Over the next few months, I relentlessly searched for him. Elena had no idea that I had been following up on trails every day because I never told her. I knew what I would find and I also knew that Stefan wouldn't ever be the same again. I also was a pessimist and a realist. I knew the facts and they were not in our favor, but I wouldn't give up because I loved Elena and I loved my brother and I couldn't live without either one of them.

**Review?! The more reviews, the more motivated I will be to post another chapter, so it is up to you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here you go, my awesome readers, chapter 6!**

**I am also going to warn you that I am leaving the cure out of this story because I made them be vampires in the present of this story anyways. I am also leaving the sire bond out because it also doesn't fit the plans I have for this story. **

Months passed before Stefan reappeared in Mystic Falls and even then he had a lot of recovering to do. He had done things that he would never be able to forgive himself for and killed innocent people for no reason except that Klaus had told him to.

As time passed, more of the original family began to show up while Stefan, Elena, and I continued to devise a plan to kill them all, but that plan was ruined when we found out that when you kill an original, the vampires underneath their bloodline die too. Fortunately, Elena's brother could talk to ghosts, so we could get in contact with the woman, Rose, who turned Katherine, who turned Stefan and me. We had no choice but to settle with killing all of them except the vampire that turned us.

Surprisingly the road trip to Denver was rather amusing. I drove while cracking jokes and telling stories about my exotic adventures in each decade he had survived. I laughed at her rather normal stories about her family and growing up in Mystic Falls.

We picked up Jeremy from the batting cage, but got caught up with Kol Mikaelson who took a bat to my head. I took part of the now fractured bat and stabbed Kol through the stomach, giving us time to get away. We ended up settling for a motel in the middle of nowhere in hopes of not being found by a very pissed off original.

"Tell me something about her," Jeremy asked.

I thought real hard, knowing exactly what I was going to tell them, but I needed a minute anyways. I knew Rose, and I had to kill her because she was bitten by a werewolf. Before I killed her though, I sent her back home in a dream. She was able to spend time in the sun and relish in the memory of her human life. Elena's gaze softened as she looked at me with tears in her eyes. I looked at the floor to avoid her stare. She made me feel weak and strong at the same time and the fact that I loved her made me closer to feeling human than I have ever felt in my entire existence. I felt vulnerable.

Through Jeremy, Rose was able to tell us the information we needed to know. It turned out that Mary Porter turned her, but Rose didn't know where she was at. We decided to stay the night there and wait for Rose to get back to us with the information we needed to find Mary.

I took a shower while Jeremy and Elena slept in the two beds. I grabbed my bottle of Bourbon and took a seat at the table by the window, leaving my shirt unbuttoned. Considering the circumstances and drama of everything, I was at peace. Pouring the auburn liquid into a plastic cup, I swallowed the liquor right before I caught Elena staring at me with her beautiful brown eyes. I wasn't sure how long she'd been watching, but she quickly looked away although she knew that I caught her. Not even a second later, she opened them again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You slept with her, didn't you?" Elena blurts out, interrupting me.

"Why do you automatically jump to that conclusion?" I prodded, "I was, and still am, a classy man."

"Ok, whatever. Just continue the story," she laughs.

I just look at her for a few seconds before continuing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I laid next to her on the bed and rest one hand behind my head.

"You never told me about that, what you did for Rose." Her words were just a sweet whisper that made my heart ache.

"It wasn't about you," I said simply, realizing that a lot of what I did was for her.

"Why don't you let people see the good in you?"

"Because when people see good, they expect good and I don't want to have to live up to anyone's expectations." It wasn't so much that I didn't want to live up to just _anyone's_ expectations, but specifically _her_ expectations. I wanted her to love me for who I was because no matter how rough I acted, even I knew that I was ultimately an ok man.

She breathed in harshly, turning to lie on her back.

I slowly grabbed her hand and gently rubbed the back of it with my thumb, intertwining our fingers. Her heart began to race and her chest rose and fell heavily with her heavy breathing. The tension between us became too much as she pulled away, grabbing her sweater as she went outside. I followed, knowing that whatever this moment was, wasn't over.

She leaned up against the drink machine as I came towards her, but I then stood still to give her some room.

"Don't."

"Why not?" I knew that she could have come up with at least fifty reasons why not, but she didn't. She didn't say a single word. "Elena…"

Without any further warning, she turned around and came to me. She ran into my arms and kissed me. We moved in perfect unison as our lips danced upon each other's. I moved her up against the wall and kissed her neck and shoulder, before she pulled my lips back to her mouth. My hands grazed up and down her back before it ended.

It was just a shooting star, a spectacular light from the heavens, a fleeting glimpse of eternity, but in a flash, it was gone.

"Elena?" Jeremy said, looking rather shocked and to be honest, disappointed.

"Oh my God, Jeremy," Elena shrugged her sweater back onto her shoulder as I pulled away from her.

"Rose found Mary."

"Kay, let's go," I said, summoning them back to the task at hand.

We found Mary dead and Kol waiting for us, but luckily we got out alive. Kol didn't tell us who turned Mary, but we eventually learned that we did descend from Klaus's bloodline.

Things were starting to be good and calm, except that Elena had to make a choice. Unfortunately, when she chose Stefan and was driving back to him, she got into an accident and drove off Wickery Bridge. She ended up coming back because of the vampire blood in her system…my blood in her system. Earlier that day, she was in the hospital for a cerebral hemorrhage and Dr. Fell gave her vampire blood that she took from me to cure her.

Elena drank human blood and completed her transition into a vampire. I wanted to leave Mystic Falls and never look back, but I made a promise. I promised Elena that I would never leave her, so I intended to keep that promise and watch Elena and Stefan ride off into the sunset while I protected her from a distance. I wanted to be omnipresent just in case she needed me.

"Damon, can we talk?" Elena asked me after a couple months of "vampire training." Stefan and I both agreed that I would be the one to teach her since he restricts his diet to small rodents and I know how to drink from humans without killing them.

Overall, we ended up spending a vast amount of time together. While Stefan became distant due to his lack of control when it came to human blood, Elena relied on me to help her through it. Stefan was also dead set on finding a way to turn Elena human again although several witches had already deemed it impossible. He was trying to fix her, but it seemed that I was the only one that could see that she didn't need fixing.

"Sure," I said as she took a seat on my bed.

"I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me," she took my hand in hers and looked me straight in the eyes, "and later today at the Miss Mystic pageant, I'll be thinking of you. I'm going to remember when you stepped in to dance with me because Stefan went awol. And when I think about us, it is going to make me happy." I could tell that it took a lot of nerve for her to tell me this.

"You're probably not going to want to tell Stefan that," I chuckled, "it would probably piss him off." I said it in a joking matter, but to be honest, it was the cold hard truth. Elena bit her lip and fidgeted with her daylight ring.

"Actually, we broke up." Because her voice was calm and controlled, I felt it was safe to assume that he wasn't the one to break up with her, but a more mutual agreement.

"Oh," I said quietly, "I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not." I honestly felt bad for my selfish feelings, but I needed her to know anyways.

"Do you want to know why?" she murmured quietly.

"Well, I'm sure it has something to do with you acting weird, so why don't you tell me," I trailed off, being captivated by her dilated pupils that sparkled with the sun streaming in through the window.

The corners of her mouth upturned slightly and her shoulders relaxed a little bit with one simple word.

"You."

I felt a rush of adrenaline and a wave of happiness tremor through my body and I couldn't help but let it show through a smile on my face.

"I guess I'll see you at the pageant later," Elena smiled back while blushing. She turned and slowly left, leaving me replaying the moment over and over because _she _chose _me._

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	7. Chapter 7

**I just want to tell you how awesome all of you are. I appreciate every single one of your comments, favorites, and follows. You motivate me to continue to grow as a writer, so thank you for that.**

The fire crackled and the flames fluctuated like rolling waves onto the beach. I felt not only the warmth of the fire on my body as I sat next to it, but the warmth of an innocent happiness; lingering glances between her and I earlier that day; the pink in her cheeks when she caught me watching her watch me.

I heard a knock on the door and found the very woman that I longed for every day.

We didn't speak for a little while; I just offered her a drink and sat next to her on the couch.

"You looked stunning today," I blurted out.

"Thank you. Caroline did a really great job putting it together," Elena said, obviously having other things on her mind.

"She did, but that isn't why you came here."

"Not at all. It just so happens that on the way over here, I was trying to think of a reason, but I could only think of one…. I wanted to dance with you."

I stared back into her big brown eyes before getting up and grabbing her hand. "Come with me."

We got into my car and I drive to a little town just outside of Mystic Falls. It was about 11 o'clock, so the streets were dead. I parked on a little side street and lead her out into the middle of the intersection.

"You wanna dance with me?"

"We don't have any music."

"We don't need some."

She complied and took my outstretched hand. I twirled her around and wrapped my arms around her, holding her close to me. I started to hum and she giggled. It was perfectly wonderful in a sort of strange way.

"You're a terrible singer," she whispered in my ear, "but I like this song." We danced and when we couldn't dance anymore, we just laid in the middle of the road, watching the lights change colors. And then she kissed me. We sat in the middle of the road, just sharing a moment of passion until a car came by and we had to jump out of the road.

"Let's get out of here," Elena said, pulling me back to the car. We barely made it inside the house before she had me up against the wall. She ran her hands up and down my body, pulling at my shirt, to reveal my chest. No matter how much I touched her, I couldn't get enough.

After we took each other and lay pressed up against each other underneath the sheets, we confessed.

"I'm falling in love with you," she whispered in my ear.

"I'm already there."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Finally! I thought he was never going to take her to bed."

I smile, having no words to say, just reveling in how much I love her. I truly believe that deep down she knows that she loves me even though she can't remember.

"Okay, continue…please," she demands.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We didn't agree on much and we fought every day whether it was about where to eat for dinner or whether we should move in together, but despite our differences, we had one important thing in common; we were crazy about each other.

I sat across the table staring deep into her eyes while we waited for the waiter to come by to take our order. My phone started buzzing and I excused myself from the table to take the call. I had learned better than to ignore phone calls from my brother, but when I returned, Elena was gone. I hurried outside and saw her walking across the street. I ran after her and grabbed her arm.

"Hey, what's the matter?" I asked, concerned with her abrupt exit

"I need to get out of this town. If I don't get out now, I'll never leave."

"Okay, where do you want to go? I'll go wherever you want to go."

"When I said I, I meant me and me alone."

I opened my mouth to protest, but then I understood what she was saying.

"Listen, I know we fight, but we love each other. I love you and you love me," I pleaded, "I can be whatever you want. You just tell me what you want and I'll be that for you."

"Damon, please, I'm begging you to let me go." She placed one hand on my arm and then left without one more word. I opened my eyes and saw Klaus leaning up against the wall of the restaurant with a smug grin on his face.

I quickly follow him around the corner and pin him up against the wall, just as he probably hoped I would.

"Why the hell would you compel her to leave me?" I yell, "What the hell did I ever do to you?"

"Don't worry; the compulsion will fall out of effect in precisely 3 years."

"You still didn't answer my question."

"I can't make hybrids anymore because Elena is a vampire and it was your blood that turned her, so you are the only logical one I can punish."

"It wasn't intentional. It is the doctor that fed her my blood."

"I know, but that doesn't change a damn thing, now does it, mate."

I pulled away, realizing that nothing I could do to Klaus would change anything. My face must have said it all because Klaus smirked before trying to sympathize with me.

"Cheer up mate, if she really does love you, in 3 years you can both ride off into the sunset."

I was about to walk away, but decided not to pass up the opportunity to punch Klaus square in the face. I left the restaurant and headed back to my house to find whatever possessions that Elena had over there, gone. She was leaving me to face each day alone and I couldn't stand the thought of not being near her. She made me happy and now that happiness was gone.

**I know this is a short chapter, but I felt that this was the best spot to end this chapter. Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to everybody who reviewed. Here is the next chapter…enjoy! ;)**

Every day was dull and lifeless. The fact that she had left without reason except that Klaus forced her to, kept me from moving on. I occupied my time with long runs into the forest and swims in the watering hole and lots of liquor and various one night stands with women whose names I had no idea.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wait! What is she doing all this time? Where is Elena?" Elena interrupts me frantically.

"I was just getting to that," I answer her.

"She didn't find somebody else, did she? Please tell me that she didn't find someone else?"

I sigh, realizing that she still didn't understand that no matter what she did in that time didn't matter because she ended back here anyways.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elena got a job at an art museum and had an apartment in Denver. She was pretty well off financially and being a vampire meant if she was in need of money, she could always compel the bank. One day when she was sitting on a bench just observing a piece of art that she'd seen a thousand times, a man came up and sat down beside her.

"You look like you could help me," he said simply.

"Well, I do work here," she answered sassily.

The man smiled warmly, which made Elena smile back.

"I would like to know what this piece of art means." The piece was a painting of a man sitting by himself up against a wall with a glass of whiskey hanging loosely in his hands.

"As you can see in the informational paragraph on the wall next to the piece, the artist said that this piece was about-"

"Oh, I apologize, but that what wasn't what I was trying to ask. What I want to know is what _you _think the piece means."

She sat there for a few moments taking a few deep breaths. "I am very familiar with this piece, for it is one of my favorites, but it makes me sad. I think it is about a man who was in love and who still is in love, but she left him. I think he is waiting, maybe for her or the rapture," she laughed, "but either way he doesn't believe that he can move on until something happens."

"Do you know him?"

"I don't know and maybe that is why I find this piece so frustrating to me."

"Maybe I'm just like that man too; waiting for somebody to share happiness with" the man said calmly, "my name is Lon, by the way." He stuck out his hand to Elena and she took it with a firm grip.

"I'm Elena."

They ended up talking for two hours about art and music and books before he finally asked her out on a date. A couple days later they went on their second date, and then soon after that, a third one. Not too long after that, they became exclusive. Elena's city friends were ecstatic to see her with Lon. He happened to be a respectable man in the business industry and had a lot of connections with various companies. His family was rather wealthy and respected in the city as well, but the most important thing of all was his acceptance. After two years of their relationship, she told him that she was a vampire and then he proposed.

Several months before they were to be married, Elena was searching the web for various places for the wedding to be held, when Mystic Falls just suddenly entered her mind. When she thought of Mystic Falls, she thought of home and the man that she felt her home was with. Within the next hour she booked a flight and had her suitcase packed to leave the next morning.

I had given up hope after four years, but one early morning in the month of July I opened the front door to go for a run and found her standing there. She looked perfect, just like the way she had left except for the diamond adorning her finger.

"Hello," she breathed.

I just stood there staring back into those eyes that I had missed so much.

"I just wanted to see if you were ok," she broke the silence, but I didn't budge, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come." When Elena turned to leave, I grabbed her arm, firmly and gently.

"You know, I don't have to go for my run this morning. We could have a drink instead."

She just nodded and followed me into the house. We ended up talking for four hours straight and even then, had more to say.

"I have to go to a council meeting, but I really would like it if you would come back tonight."

"Sure," She gave in. I led her out and found myself feeling those familiar feelings from a few years back. I was pretty sure those feelings were love.

As 6 o'clock rolled around, Elena found herself putting on makeup and changing into a clean top after fixing her hair. I took a shower and changed into some fresh clothes before she came over too. That night we ate dinner around the fire and continued talking. It wasn't until after a drink or two that I asked about Lon.

"Is he good to you?"

"Yes. He even knows about me and what I am."

"Oh," I muttered.

"He likes art and classical things, which interests me too. We have quite a few things in common and he treats me really good."

"Good," I said, trying to process the fact that she'd moved on. "Can I show you something?"

She nodded and followed me outside. We walked down to the watering hole where I ran every day. Since it was summer, the sound of birds and crickets chirping filled the air.  
"Wow, I don't remember it being so pretty."

"That's because you didn't ever see it as a vampire."

"Well that is a very logical observation," she teased, taking a seat on the grass beside it. The breeze was warm and the waterfall sprayed a little, just enough to get my bare feet wet.

"Damon, I know I was compelled. I found out about a year ago."

I opened my mouth to speak, but a crack of thunder interrupted me. Lightning followed and I led Elena back to the house. By the time we got to the front lawn, we were both soaked. She started to laugh randomly and her laugh made me laugh, but as usual for me, all good things turn sour.

"You knew about Klaus compelling me, didn't you?" her voice was full of hurt and frustration.

I just stared back at her, still captured by how surreal her presence felt.

"I still loved you. You could have told me and we could have stayed together, but now it's too late."

She was nearly screaming over the pouring rain.

"I didn't know where you were."

"That doesn't cut it for me. You could have asked Jeremy or found me some other way."

"I did find you," I started to raise my voice, "I found you with _him_."

I pause, feeling my heart ache with every word spoken, "why didn't you come back for me?"

"I was engaged. I couldn't just leave Lon and come running back to you, especially after I had no sign of you wanting to be with me."

"It wasn't over for me, Elena," I took a few steps forward, closing the distance between us, "it still isn't over." I pulled her into me before she could object and kissed her. She didn't reject or pull away, so I went deeper, pressing her body to mine. I pulled her up as she wrapped her legs around my waist so I could carry her into the house without our lips leaving each other's.

Stumbling through the doorway, I pushed her up against a wall as she peeled my soaked shirt off. I ran my fingers up underneath her wet blouse, feeling her perfect body before slipping it over her head. She wiggled out of my hold and dropped to the floor to undo my belt buckle. I could feel her fingers shake, but my whole body trembled.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs and into my bedroom. I lifted her up again and laid her down on the sheets as I hovered over her as she tugged on my jeans while I pulled hers off. She flipped me onto my back and kissed my neck and chest. My fingers fumbled with the latch on her bra while I tilted my head back and took refuge in her touch. When we were both completely naked, I pulled away for a moment, not believing that this was even real. She must have spotted the doubt in my eyes before she placed a hand on my cheek.

"This is real," she whispered, still panting. I kissed her and lowered my body onto hers, taking it slow at first and deepening myself into the first night of happiness in four years.

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	9. Chapter 9

**Here is chapter 9! Enjoy everybody**

I woke up with my arms around her, holding on tight so she couldn't just slip away. I had lost her once before and there was no way in hell that I would let that happen again. I felt her stir against my body as she slowly slipped into consciousness.

"Good morning," I whispered into her ear as she wiggled around to face me.

"Right back at you," she mumbled back, nuzzling her head into my bare chest. I inhaled deeply the scent of her coconut scented shampoo and tilted her head towards mine to place a gentle kiss on those perfect lips.

"It's been too long," she finally spoke.

"A day without you is too long, so yes, we have been long overdue."

"I know." I heard her sigh and I knew that she felt guilt for not coming back the moment the three years of oblivion were up.

"Hey, you're back now, so that is all that matters. Besides, we have an eternity to make up for lost time."

She smiled lightly before rolling over and sliding out of bed. I rolled onto my back to watch. She just sauntered on over to my bathtub and turned on the faucet while pouring about half the bottle of bubble bath in. Then, she dipped a foot inside and then the other, taking her sweet time settling into the fast rising bubbles.

"You know, I've always loved this bathtub right?" she teased, turning the faucet off with her toe, "except there is just one problem."

"Now, what's that?"

"You see, I am not a very good swimmer, so I am going to need some supervision is this big tub of yours."

"Hmmm," I muttered playfully, "I could always hire a lifeguard or attach a lifejacket to you."

"Or…" she started to blush, "you could get your naked ass over here and take care of me."

I ran over there at "vamp" speed, already naked by the time I reached her. "Don't worry, babe, I got you."

I climbed into the tub and laid on top of her, my mouth encasing hers, allowing the water to wash over both of us as we went under. And being dead, we didn't even have to waste time coming up for a breath.

For two days and two nights, we spent every moment together. We made pancakes and drank coffee while lounging around in pajamas. We snuggled on the couch, kissed constantly and had lots of sex, even next to the fire. Everything was perfect and how it should be, but then her phone started to ring

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"No!" Elena interrupts once again. We sat in the living room, where so much of our history had happened and she still had no idea. "It's Lon on the phone, isn't it?"

"You had to have seen that coming, right?"

"Well, I just figured that she would dump him and go live with you."

"It's not that simple," I laughed, "if you have learned anything from this story, it should be that NOTHING is _that_ simple."

"Your love for each other is," she says so…simply. "I think your love for each other is so deep, but the fire that fuels it is simple and it burns _that _bright."

"It sounds like you know the feeling," I smirk, wishing and hoping she would come back to me.

"I feel like I have, but I don't know where." We sit in silence, letting what was said just hang in the air between us.

"Could you please continue?"

"Sure."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hi," Elena got up and answered the phone to her fiancé. I closed my eyes to listen close to what he was saying.

"How is it going? Is Mystic Falls in the running for the destination for the wedding of the century?" Lon chuckled.

"Yeah, it is really pretty out here," Elena's voice cracked.

"Good, because you deserve the best."

"Thank you."

"Hey, I just wanted to check in on you, but I have to go much too soon. My work is calling. I love you and can't wait to marry you."

"I…I…I'll see you soon." She hung up and shoved the phone into her pocket, avoiding my stare.

I nodded my head in acceptance as the realization hit me; she was still going back to him. We stayed in complete silence for a very long time.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, more for my own confirmation that I was really going to lose her again because I already knew. Just a few words on the phone made it pretty clear.

"I don't know, Damon."

"What about the past couple days? They happened, Elena."

"I know that they happened and they were wonderful, but they were reckless and irresponsible, Damon."

I rose to my feet and gazed out the window, feeling our future slip away.

"I have a fiancé who I already made a promise too." I shook my head, feeling the anger eating at me, but it wasn't because of her. I was angry at the situation, the timing, and the cold hard truth.

"So you sleep with me and then go back to him. Your promise is shot to hell now, don't you think?"

"I don't know, but I guess I'll find out."

"I know that you know what you should choose," my voice turns into a yell, "but I can't figure out why you aren't choosing it."

I followed her as she walked outside, "Please, stay and choose me." I remembered back to 1864 and 2012 when all this happened. I felt history begin to repeat itself, but there wasn't a single doubt in my body because I knew that this was it. We were meant to be together for the long haul; forever, however long that was.

"Damon, you once said that _we don't work_ and I didn't believe you," her voice cracked, sending a shiver down my spine, "maybe this is what you meant."

"I was right. We don't work, but we _make_ it work," I stared deep into her, knowing how hard she was fighting it.

"Maybe we are just wrong for each other, Damon."

I grabbed her hand and pressed it against my heart.

"Does this feel wrong?" I whispered, taking my hand and pressing it against her beautiful face, "does this feel wrong?"

"Cheating on my fiancé was wrong. Being here with you is wrong," she cried.

"But you are here anyways, Elena. Don't go back to him and take the easy way out because I believe that you know what you want. And what you want _is_ me."

"But no matter what I do, somebody gets hurt. There isn't an easy way out."

"Stop thinking about what I want or what he wants! What do _you_ want?" I pressured.

"What do you want?" I asked quietly again.

"I have to go," she whispered. I nodded my head in defeat. She made her choice, she was going back to him and so I stepped aside and let her leave. I stood there and watched as she got into her car and drove away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Why didn't you stop her?" Elena has tears in her eyes.

"I wanted her to choose me because she wanted to," I state the truth as easy as if it were an arithmetic problem, "she needed to make the choice for herself."

"But don't you see, she made the wrong choice."

"The story isn't over yet."

"But you are alone right now, so how can this story have a happy ending," her voice trails off.

I don't say a single word because I don't want to scare her away from finding the truth.

Elena moves over to a mirror on the wall. She stares at her reflection, being careful to notice every detail as if she was looking at herself for the first time. After several minutes, she runs up to my room, so I quickly follow behind.

She goes over to the nightstand beside my bed and picks up the one picture that I kept out. Bonnie had advised that I put all of the pictures away while Elena's consciousness was MIA, but I could not bring myself to put this one away. It was our wedding photo. She was dressed in white, looking as beautiful as she always did. I had on a simple black tuxedo and a black bowtie. My arms were wrapped around her as she rested her head of beautiful brown hair onto my shoulder. We were both smiling and we were both happy.

Elena traces her thumb over the photo while sinking to the floor.

"Your name is Damon and this is you in the photo," she whispers and then points to the picture of herself, "and this is Elena."

I just nod my head and take a seat next to her.

"What's my name?" she looks at me with those familiar brown eyes.

"Your name was Elena Gilbert, but on September 24th, 2015, you became Elena Salvatore."

She smiles as her eyes water and points back to the photo, "and that's me." This time, it isn't a question. This time, she knows.

"That's you."

I take her head in my hands and kiss her. Our lips move rhythmically together as I pull her into my lap.

"Damon, I'm so sorry. I don't know what's happened to me," she cries, pulling away from me.

"It's ok; you just went away for a little while," I stroke her cheek with the back of my hand, " I've been keeping Bonnie updated and she thought that if I could get you to a point of remembrance she might be able to do a spell that will block this from ever happening again, just in case."

"Then what are you waiting for? Get her over here."

She snuggles in deeper into me and I wrap my arms tighter around her because this is how it is supposed to be.

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for an epilogue and remember to review!**


	10. Chapter 10

Epilogue

"Damon!" I hear Bonnie yell from downstairs.

"Up here," I holler down, not wanting to leave Elena for a moment. She rushes up and comes into the room. "She came back about 30 minutes ago when she picked up our wedding photo."

"Ok, that's good. I know what to do now."

"You do? Do you know what caused this? Do you know how to fix it?"

"I think what happened is a Vivificabit vita spell, which is basically a lie. Il-informed or under experienced witches use it because legend has it that it can bring people back to life. But what it really does is take part of somebody else's life to power the revival of the deceased for not even 30 seconds. In this case, your life and mind was drawn from, causing you to forget."

"Is she safe now? She won't forget anymore, will she?" I ask, urgently.

"That's what I am going to make sure of now. I have a spell that will metaphorically speaking "tie her down" or more like "tie her to you." I can bind you two so that if somebody tries to draw power from you, Damon's subconscious will basically fight it off as if it were simply defending an alliance in attack. And vice versa."

"Alright, how do we do this then?" I say, helping Elena to her feet.

"I need two personal tokens or items from both of you."

I slip off my wedding band and place it in Bonnie's palm. Elena glances at her hand, relieved that she is still wearing hers despite the period of oblivion she was in.

I take Elena's hand in mine while Bonnie starts speaking in Latin while holding the rings in the palm of her hand. A minute passes by and then silence ensues.

"Done," Bonnie opens her eyes and hands us our rings back. I exhale, realizing that I had been holding my breath.

"Welcome back, Elena," Bonnie gives Elena a big hug and wipes a tear from her cheek.

"Thank you, Bonnie, for everything. I couldn't have made it through this without you," I say and place a kiss on her cheek. She smiles and nods before excusing herself.

"So I guess now, we can start our forever," Elena teases, pushing me back onto the bed.

"I would have stayed if you never remembered because I love you that much."

"I love you," she says, kissing my neck.

"I know."

"And I also love this shirt, but it has to go," she teases, pulling it over my head and moving to my jeans, "and these pants are darling, but we have to take them off too."

I undress her, relishing in each moment and button that I undo. For too long, I had been deprived of being close to her, but now we would make up for that and the next day and the day after that and for every day until time stops ticking. But for now, we would keep filling the pages of every notebook of how two people could love each other so much that even the supernatural couldn't keep them apart. It was just _that_ powerful.

**I know this last chapter was rather short, but I'm no good at writing what happens after the "happily ever after" so if you want fluff, please read my story called "Picture This." It is a bunch of one-shots for you fluff fans. **

**Also, I have started another Delena story called "Playing with Fire," so please check it out. I'm pretty excited to get deeper into that storyline.**

**Thanks for reading and sticking it out until the end. Stay Awesome! **


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